In an older copy of Food Arts magazine there was an article about a mini-trend towards smaller restaurant kitchens. In each case, the interviewed chefs made the same point: You have to make do with what you have. You have to be flexible. You have to use available equipment in ways other than it was designed for.
The article ends with a quote from Chef Jason Travi, who says: “If necessary, you can cook a turkey in a toaster oven.”
It occurs to me that this is even more true for home cooks. Despite the fact that we all have equipment and tools our parents never dreamed of, we still have to adapt. We don’t have lines. And we don’t run multiple kitchen tools at the same time.
Most of us, for example, don’t own deep fryers. So we use a cast-iron kettle and (if we’re smart) a thermometer to achieve the same end. We don’t have holding boxes to keep food warm until we need it. So we set the oven on low, and hope that will do the job. We only have one, or at most, two ovens. So we find ways to stack, and mix & match dishes when there’s a lot of baking and roasting in the offing. I’d venture to say that none of us own a salamander. So we use the broiler setting in the oven---which doesn’t always do quite the same job, but what can you do?
As a former short-order cook, I miss my flat-top. There is, literally, nothing you can cook on a range that you can’t cook on one of them (and, btw, do a whole lot of them at one time). Obviously, there’s no room in my kitchen for even a small flat-top. But a plain griddle, stretched across two burners, can come close.
So, here’s my question: If space and money were not considerations, what cooking equipment would you most like to have? And, being as you don’t have it, how do you achieve the task that gear is designed for?
It also occurs to me that I’ve never owned a toaster oven. No particular reason. But I guess that means I’ll never cook a turkey in one.
The article ends with a quote from Chef Jason Travi, who says: “If necessary, you can cook a turkey in a toaster oven.”
It occurs to me that this is even more true for home cooks. Despite the fact that we all have equipment and tools our parents never dreamed of, we still have to adapt. We don’t have lines. And we don’t run multiple kitchen tools at the same time.
Most of us, for example, don’t own deep fryers. So we use a cast-iron kettle and (if we’re smart) a thermometer to achieve the same end. We don’t have holding boxes to keep food warm until we need it. So we set the oven on low, and hope that will do the job. We only have one, or at most, two ovens. So we find ways to stack, and mix & match dishes when there’s a lot of baking and roasting in the offing. I’d venture to say that none of us own a salamander. So we use the broiler setting in the oven---which doesn’t always do quite the same job, but what can you do?
As a former short-order cook, I miss my flat-top. There is, literally, nothing you can cook on a range that you can’t cook on one of them (and, btw, do a whole lot of them at one time). Obviously, there’s no room in my kitchen for even a small flat-top. But a plain griddle, stretched across two burners, can come close.
So, here’s my question: If space and money were not considerations, what cooking equipment would you most like to have? And, being as you don’t have it, how do you achieve the task that gear is designed for?
It also occurs to me that I’ve never owned a toaster oven. No particular reason. But I guess that means I’ll never cook a turkey in one.